Closer 2

161.

Breakfast went well, as Benjamin went to sleep about halfway through. Eddy loved hearing Elise's giggles when he joked with her, and he loved just spending the time alone with her. In a way, he had missed her. He knew it probably was his fault. Belle had told him as much anyway.

He had texted Belle about the emergency, and she had gotten to borrow their mom's car to pick up Brett and Aiden. She had wanted to go back to their mom's with Aiden, but Eddy honestly couldn't handle not seeing him for any longer than he practically had to. He really just wanted to be sure he was okay, really wanted to protect him.

"Daddy?" Elise asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. They had been mid playing with blocks, which she had requested for after breakfast. He had just spaced out for a bit.

"Sorry baby, daddy's just worried about Ai," Eddy told her, just hoping mentioning him wouldn't make her leave like it often did. "He's gonna be okay, but daddy's just being a bit silly."

"Oh," Elise said with a sigh, putting her block down. Eddy felt his heart sink and a sting of panic set in.

"It's okay, we're playing now, though. I'll see Ai later," he said quickly, trying to smile even as Elise pushed herself to her feet. "As long as Bee is quiet, daddy's all yours."

Eddy was almost shaking when Elise grabbed Sharkie form behind her and hugged him to her chest for a moment. He should not have said anything about Aiden, he shouldn't have spaced out, he shouldn't have mentioned Benjamin. Why couldn't he just do this parenting thing right?

"Here daddy," Elise said softly, taking a step closer and holding out Sharkie to him. "Sharkie hug."

Eddy blinked a few times, trying to understand what she was doing. He just knew it wasn't what he thought she was about to do.

"Wh... What?"

"Sharkie hug... No worry?" she suggested, tilting her head slightly. Eddy couldn't help but smile a bit at the realization of how smart and understanding their tiny little girl was. The only thing he didn't think was great was the fact that she was the one comforting him at almost two years old. He would ignore how insanely wrong that was for now and carefully took Sharkie to hug.

"Can I have a hug from you too, Li-Li?" Eddy requested softly, opening his arms a bit so she could come hug too if she was okay with it.

"Hmmm... Yeah!" Elise grinned, walking into his arms and hugging him too. He couldn't help but smile at her little giggles.

"Thank you, baby girl, for being so kind and sharing a Sharkie hug with me," Eddy said softly, stroking her back a bit and kissing her head. "Maybe you'll help me when Bee wakes up? I'm sure he would love a Sharkie hug too."

"Okay," Elise nodded, still hugging. She didn't sound as enthusiastic about it, though.

"Only if you want to share, though. You don't have to if you don't want to," Eddy tried to assure her, still holding his arm around her. She looked like she was considering it, but then gave him a smile.

"Yeah!"